Reliance has sourced the world’s first consignment of ‘carbon-neutral oil’ from the United States. The move comes as the company looks to become a net zero-carbon company by 2035. Reliance, which operates the world’s largest single-location oil refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat with the capacity of 68.2 million tonnes a year, got 2 million barrels of consignment Permian basin, the US supplier said in a statement. Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a division of US oil major Occidental, delivered carbon-neutral oil to Reliance, the firm said.
Reliance, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, said last year that it’s planning to replace sales of road fuels like diesel and gasoline with cleaner alternatives as it seeks to ride the global energy transition. Its twin refineries, however, were originally designed to process the world’s dirtiest and cheapest crude into high-value petroleum products to maximize profits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking to boost the nation’s green credentials with a goal of doubling renewable power by next year. Explorer Oil & Natural Gas Corp. is among companies aiming to reduce their greenhouse gas footprint, with an agreement to source carbon-dioxide from refiner Indian Oil Corp. to inject into its oilfields to increase production.
Occidental, the first US-based international energy company to announce an ambition to achieve net-zero GHG emissions associated with the use of its products by 2050, has been using carbon-dioxide in its enhanced oil recovery operations in the Permian for over 40 years.
How will the oil be carbon-neutral?
The Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Macquarie will offset carbon dioxide equivalent to that associated with the production, delivery and refining of the crude oil and the use of the resulting product through the retirement of carbon offset credits. This will make the oil ‘carbon-neutral’.
